Re: Partman

[Jim Lieb <lieb@wildopensource.com>]

I'm the implementor of partman.efi.

Let's get this down to specifics.  All IA64 platforms and
newer server class Xeon and bigger systems use EFI instead
of the traditional BIOS that PC users are expecting.

This patch set is IA64 architecture and IA32+EFI specific.
Other partitioning methods are not affected by this change.

EFI expects a bootable FAT filesystem for the boot image, not
an MBR or partition boot block.  That is why partman-efi and
friends were written.  The primary reason for partman-efi is its
check for the bootable partition *before* the base install begins.
The elilo installer does indeed ask the question but at the end
of 10-15 mins of package install.  It asks it then because it
needs the infrastructure in /target to make things happen.  Not
having a bootable FAT available at that point requires a complete
installation re-start because the disk has to be re-partitioned and
the root is now partially loaded.

For further detail, I refer you to both the info messages in the 
template file(s) and the install manual additions for ia64 in an
accompanying patch which explain the issues in greater detail.

Our primary issue right now is to get these patches into svn and
the daily builds.  Does anyone have an indication when that  will
happen so Dann F and I finish validation on this portion of the
ia64 port?

Thanks,

Jim

On Monday 19 July 2004 20:51, John Summerfield wrote:
> Margarita Manterola wrote:
> >-= This is a code fix.  No string change needed =-
> >
> >It's kind of dumb to show the "Bootable flag" for certain partition
> >types (like swap), I think it would be better to not show it when it
> >makes no difference, so as not to confuse the user unnecesarily.
>
> To the best of my knowledge, the bootable flag has no significance
> unless you have a DOS-family MBR.
>
> Why ask at all if there is no choice to be made?
>
> If you're installing GRUB or LILO to the boot sector, there is no
> choice If you do _not_ have GRUB or LILO on the boot sector,
>     and there is only one possible bootable partition there is no
> choice and there are two or three bootable partitions, one containing
> grub is a safe default.
>
> Getting the right answer without asking the user (who might not know
> anyway) might require reading some boot sectors and inspecting their
> contents.
>
>
> This, of course, points to it being a question to be answered at the
> time of installing (or not) a boot loader, and not when partitioning.
>
>
> --
>
> Cheers
> John
>
> -- spambait
> 1aaaaaaa@computerdatasafe.com.au  Z1aaaaaaa@computerdatasafe.com.au
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-- 
*************
Jim Lieb			Wild Open Source Inc.
lieb@wildopensource.com		Cell: 831.295.9317
Office: 831.421.0883            Fax:  831.421.0885